Kara Danvers Woman of Many Secrets
by pineappurus
Summary: Kara writes a scathing expose to get back at Morgan Edge for what he did to those children and Lena Luthor. Edge, being the asshat that he is, refuses to take the article lying down. Kara's life is in danger, or so Lena thinks. So Lena insists on making sure her best friend is safe in the only way she sees possible - by making Kara Danvers live with her.
1. Kara Danvers Sex Toy Enthusiast?

"No, Lena. It's absolutely unneccessary!"

Kara Danvers turns around, facing away from her best friend and now boss Lena Luthor. She throws her hands up in the air in frustration and starts pacing. Lena just crosses her arms in front of her and taps her foot on the wooden floor.

"No, Kara," the CEO speaks in her best authoritative voice, "There is no way I will allow this. I will not let your life be endangered because of me!"

"Ugh." Kara plops herself down on the bed. "Lena, listen to me-"

"No, you listen."

Lena cuts Kara off, invading the reporter's personal space, propelling herself forward so that their faces are close, looking at her friend square in the eye. Lena's authoritative tone is now her big bad bitch tone, one that she has never ever used on Kara Danvers and never thought she would need to; and of all the times Kara had to be her stubborn self, this had to be one of them. But there was no way in hell Lena was budging for this. Not for Kara Danvers - not for her most important friend. Kara is taken aback by the fire in her best friend's tone.

The two women were at Kara's apartment. They were fine on the car ride home. Well, Kara was because she is Supergirl, but Lena was shaken up - not for herself, however, but for her friend.

It was a few days after the lead poisoning incident at the Luthor Children's hospital and Supergirl's visit with the biggest white male douchebag on the face of the earth - or at least National City - Morgan Edge. Edge had taunted her and called her weak for not being able to kill him. So, Kara decided that if she can't touch Morgan Edge as Supergirl, she was definitely not going to let the opportunity to get back at him as Kara Danvers pass.

She had written a scathing article that was posted on the CatCo Media website early this morning about the alleged involvement of the Acre Lee company and by extension, Edge's group of companies to the poisoning incident. She had also exposed Edge's misogyny and sexism after she luckily uncovered a sexual harassment suit in the man's past that he tried to bury with his money. But when you've got a nose for news like Kara Danvers and not to mention, Clarke Kent as a cousin who has Lois Lane, the best reporter in the planet, as his wife, you can bet that nothing will ever stay hidden.

So, with Edge branded as a rapist and misogynist, it was easy to list down all the instances documented on video or in interviews, where he directed hate at Lena Luthor because she is a woman in power. The article also called him for the spineless coward that he is.

After the article's posting, everything just went downhill from there. Numerous other news stations kept calling CatCo for the details on the story. Kara still remembers the look on Eve Tessmacher's face as she got dizzier and dizzier by the second, managing all the calls and e-mails. If they were in a cartoon world, Ms. Tessmacher would have two swirling spirals for eyes and she would be a limp figure barely hanging on her chair.

Then came the anonymous death threats. Kara's phone kept blaring and ringing. However they managed to get her number, she would never know. She must have been hacked or something. She makes a mental note of asking Winn and the DEO to provide a secure mobile phone for her that's unhackable so she wouldn't have to worry about this happening again.

But, of course, the death threats were nothing to be concerned about for Kara. She was Supergirl for crying out loud. She could definitely take care of herself. Lena was worried, as a friend would be. Everyone in CatCo was confident that these were merely threats meant to scare Kara. The editorial board expected this much when they gave Kara the green light to run the story.

What they didn't expect, however, was the duo riding a big black unregistered motorbike that drove up to Kara Danvers and Lena Luthor in the parking lot and started shooting at them. Kara had heard the roaring sound of the bike's engine as it was a few seconds away, just in time to push her friend down beside the car and cover her. Lena, however, didn't even have the time to scream in terror and shock. The gunshots rang loudly in the parking lot and the bullets ricocheted off of the parked cars, including the CEO's prized Tesla. Kara shot up and tried to shoot the tires of the bike with her heat vision but missed. Lena was crouched down to the ground and was oblivious to what Kara just did.

The CEO was visibly shaken and pale but thankfully unscathed.

Gosh, how many times is Lena Luthor going to get shot at in her life? Kara thinks. Hopefully not too many. Hopefully not when Kara isn't there to save her.

Kara gently helped Lena up on her feet and then dusted off her friends clothes before dusting her own. Her fingertips graze over a bullet hole in her blazer around the part of her shoulder blades and she immediately takes it off before Lena sees her uninjured despite being shot and finally realizes she's Supergirl. The blue of her Supergirl suit peeks through the hole in her cashmere sweater, however, but of course, she can't take that off.

The ride going to Kara's apartment was quiet. They didn't start fighting until Kara alighted Lena's car and stood at her building entrance.

That was when Lena told - pretty much ordered - Kara to come stay at her house for a while instead of staying by herself in her apartment for her safety. Kara had just waved it off, because really, she can take care of herself.

But Lena was not having any of it.

Which takes us back to now...

"Kara, you know what he is capable of. He poisoned children and now he is after you, trying to get you killed. What kind of friend or person would I be if I let you stay in your apartment? Alone?"

Lena is staring Kara dead in the eyes still. There was fire in the CEO's beautiful green eyes and Kara couldn't help but sweat under their stare. She briefly thinks that Lena Luthor has the power to will any wish to reality with that stare and green orbs alone.

Kara leans back, almost lying down on the bed, putting breathing space between her and the persuasive woman. The reporter's thoughts brushes on vampires and their powers of thrall and considers that Lena Luthor could definitely pass off as a vampire.

Or maybe she is? Otherwise, how do you explain her whole look and her ability to make people say yes?

Kara tries to convince Lena again, now that she has more room to breathe.

"Look, I can stay with Alex. She can keep me safe."

Lena leans back, squints her eyes at Kara and narrows her brow. She was not budging and neither was Kara. Whenever she finds herself in between a rock and a hard place, Lena always makes sure she's even more unbreakable and unbendable than the two. So she makes her mind up to not budge on this one.

In a game of stubborness, Lena always wins.

"Your sister is an FBI agent who is almost always out on the field. How is she going to protect you?"

Kara sighs a heavy breath through her nose. She looks down and shakes her head slowly, clenching her jaw. She was losing her patience. The two of them have been going at it for almost an hour now and this is the first serious fight she and Lena ever had for as long as they've been friends. Lena just maintains her stare, eyebrow raised, daring Kara to challenge her.

Kara opens her mouth.

"Lena, no, I don't-"

"My penthouse has 24/7 security and there's no way those hired hitmen can get to you as easily."

"But Lena-"

Fifteen minutes later, Kara pulls a dusty suitcase out of her closet. She sees the dust billow and swirl around in the rays of the afternoon sun. She last used this when she moved into this apartment after graduation from National City University and after getting the assistant position at CatCo. So, she should have expected it to be in this state. She should definitely clean this storage closet when she gets back. She feels a tickling sensation at her nose. She scrunches up her face to relieve herself.

It doesn't work. So, she rubs it with her fingers. This only proves to be counter-effective as-

 _AAH-AH-AHCHOOOO!_

Kara sneezes with the mighty wrath of Rao and Lena jumps from the sheer loudness of the noise. It sounded like a hurricane blew through the house. The CEO was in the reporter's bathroom because she'd been unable to take a bathroom break while they were fighting, not unless Kara gave up. Lena hurriedly washes her hand and fixes her skirt to check on her best friend.

Meanwhile, Kara opens her eyes to see that her breath has frozen her hand over the suitcase handle. Her eyes widen. _Oh shoot..._ She tries to carefully wiggle her hand around, but it doesn't budge.

"Kara?" It was Lena's voice, worried, followed by the sound of a door knob turning, the creak of an opening door and the loud click clack of heels on her wooden floors.

Lena's coming. And her hand was frozen stuck to her suitcase while a third of the said suitcase was also frozen over. Oh fu-Fort Rozz, no, she can't see…

Lena Luthor hurriedly walks to Kara's closet, knowing that Kara was starting to pack. She rounds the hallway, her brow furrowed in concern and sees…

She jumps in surprise as she almost bumps into Kara who was closing the closet door behind her. Kara is equally surprised, a 'deer caught in headlights with a touch of guilty seven year old caught with her hand in the cookie jar' look on her face. The reporter's mouth opens and closes like a goldfish.

"L-Lena! I, uh, I wuh…"

Lena tilts her head and the crease in her brow deepens.

"Kara I heard a loud…" Lena squints as she tries to look for the word to describe it. "Uh… Gust of wind and… cracking noise?"

Oh, shoot… Kara scrambles for some sort of excuse, any sort of excuse. Was she really going to blow her cover with a sneeze, of all things? She imagined all future scenarios of her identity reveal as Supergirl (if there ever was going to be one) to her best friend as much more dramatic.

"Uh," Kara smiles and puts a hand, the unfrozen and warm one, on Lena's shoulder in what she hoped was a comforting manner. "No, that was nothing… Some of my old things fell from the top shelf of my closet and I, uh, bumped my head against it when I stood up, and, uh… Oh, you know, just me being my clumsy self."

The crease in Lena's brow disappears but the concern in her eyes deepen.

"Oh my, are you hurt?" The CEO starts inspecting her friend closely, patting Kara randomly all over her body, to check if the other woman was injured in any way. She suspends all disbelief and casts aside her doubts on what happened because she heard no crashes or thuds, and there was no way that was just a few things falling.

Lena's hands touch Kara's arm and they move down to check her other hand. Kara instinctively moves her arm away, hiding it farther behind her, away from Lena's touch.

"Kara, what?" The CEO is surprised by this but insists on checking it, anyway.

The reporter is breathing quickly now, nervous and panicked, and shakes her head no. Lena raises her eyebrow. Her friend is definitely the seven year old with her hand caught stuck in the cookie jar. Lena's nostrils flare in impatience and she looks determined to _see_ what had just happened.

"Show me your hand." Lena says this in the voice she uses when she wants to make men cower. It definitely has the same effect on Kara Danvers.

Kara looks more and more panicked by the second.

"Kara, I said-"

"It's private!" Kara screams in panic.

 _What?_ Confusion is written plainly all over Lena's face.

"What's private?" Lena leans back and tucks her arms together, eyebrow raised. What exactly was Kara talking about?

Kara breathes out, finally relieved that Lena has backed off a bit. The day has been harrowing for Lena Luthor. She wasn't new to these threats, she'd been the object of death threats ever since she took the seat at L-Corp. What she wasn't having, however, was Kara's life being endangered in any way. And now her best friend had an accident in her closet and is being all secretive about it. And while she usually doesn't pry because she's a very private person herself, Lena's nose could sniff the bullshit a mile away. If Kara Danvers was-

"The, uh… My things in this closet, they're, uh, they're private." Kara looks down, fidgets a bit with her glasses, and pushes them up the bridge of her nose. She was caught in a position and she had blurted out the first thing in her head.

Lena observes Kara's behavior and then it just clicks in her head. Oh, private… That kind of private.

The CEO takes a step back and looks down, now feeling ashamed and guilty. Kara is surprised by the sudden change in her friend's behavior when it pieces together in her head, too.

Oh no… She thinks the things in my closet are… Oh, Rao.

"No, no, Lena, I-" then Kara pauses. Was there really a more perfect excuse to get Lena to calm down and not inspect her still-frosted hand and the frozen suitcase she put back in her closet?

No.

"Yes. Those are my, uh," Kara gulps, the word feels stuck in her throat, her face heats up hotter than the sun of Krypton. Oh dear Rao, this is embarrassing. She gulps again before continuing, "- toys… of a sexual nature, and-"

Kara was going to say that she doesn't want her anyone to see them but she's halted as Lena puts her hand up to stop Kara from speaking further; the CEO's pale skin also now red as a freshly picked tomato. Lena's not new to anything racy because, duh, boarding school, but Kara Danvers wasn't one of the people she's used to talking about anything sexual with. So, not wanting to prolong both of their agonies, she's letting Kara know that she's backing off completely.

"It's fine, Kara. I-I'm sorry for being invasive." Lena looks up and into her friend's eyes, shaking off the awkwardness of the situation and trying to get back on track. "I was just worried. Today's been crazy."

Kara holds Lena's gaze and nods. She understands everything, she understands that Lena's just trying to keep her safe. A smile blossoms slowly on Kara's lips. This was new, someone was treating her and trying to take care of her. It made her feel like a normal girl. She laughs and the sound surprises Lena. The CEO raises a questioning eyebrow.

"Oh, you know," Kara waves a nonchalant hand. "Guess you now know my secret."

Lena laughs. Kara Danvers, sex toy enthusiast? Lena licks her lips and takes a step forward. The air between the two women shift and Kara wasn't sure what's changed until she sees Lena lick her lips. The reporter gulps.

"Well, Kara, you're not the only woman with secrets…"

The way the other woman said it makes her skin break into a light cold sweat. What was that? What did that mean? Kara shakes her head and laughs nervously. Lena's eyes scan Kara from head to toe, a glint of something in them - what it is, Kara can't quite figure out. But she feels unnerved.

The CEO laughs and turns around. She decides to let Kara pack by herself so she can bring anything she wants to her apartment

"I'll go downstairs and wait for you in the car."

When the door closes behind Lena's back, Kara immediately pulls out her phone from her pocket and speed dials her sister as she walks to her sink to wash off thaw her hand with warm water. Alex picks up at the third ring.

"Hey, Kara-"

"Alex," she interrupts her sister, "Lena and I got attacked at the CatCo parking lot."

"What? Are you guys fine?" There was worry in Alex's voice.

"Yes. There's a bullet hole in one of my favorite sweaters, though."

In the DEO, Alex laughs and shakes her head. In her apartment, Kara runs the warm water over her frosted hand.

"Do you know who attacked you?" Alex asks.

"Lena and I know for sure that it's Morgan Edge. I ran an article that could basically ruin his reputation." Kara closes the faucet and heads back into her closet to find another bag to put her clothes in. "He's the only one who would want to kill Kara Danvers and he's more than capable of it. But that's not my problem right now."

"What is?"

"Lena now wants me to live with her until my life isn't in danger any more." Kara throws her hands in the air in frustration. "Because she has no idea that I'm bulletproof!"

"What? Oh. Right…"

"I even told her I could stay with you but she thinks you're an FBI agent and you're not home for most of the day and I'll still be in danger, anyway."

Alex sighs.

"Lena does have a point Kara. Just…" the DEO agent throws a hand in the air, "just go along with her on this, so she doesn't find out you're Supergirl. In the meantime, I'll talk to J'onn and we'll see if we can figure something out."

Kara blows out a breath of frustration.

"I knew you'd say that. Okay, Alex."

Kara ends the call and goes back to her storage closet to look for another bag she can use.

Oh, boy…

* * *

Kara bounds down the steps of her apartment building. She can see through the tinted windows of the very expensive limousine parked in front that Lena Luthor was typing away at her phone in the backseat before her friend rolled down the window - x-ray vision.

After the attack that afternoon, Kara's senses were on high alert. She listened for any suspicious noises and scanned for any threats. She'd actually flown around to check, bird's-eye view, if there were any more masked gunmen trying to kill her or her friend. Thankfully there were none.

Kara opens the door and slides herself in. The limo tilts to accommodate her weight then rights itself back up - the motion doesn't budge her friend in the slightest. Lena was focused on whatever she was typing as evidenced by the crease on her brow and the intense concentration on her face.

"Hey," the reporter greets her.

Only at the sound of her friend's voice does Lena look up from her phone.

"I was just writing an e-mail - uh, Kara?" The CEO stops mid-sentence, a sculpted brow raised in confusion. "What is that? Why are you carrying a black plastic garbage bag?"

Kara looks down at the bag she's holding.

"Oh, th-this… It's, uhmm…"

One of the strongest beings on the planet, the girl of steel, is holding a black trash bag that contains all of her clothes and things because she didn't have any other suitcase or bag that was big enough to pack a week's worth of clothes in. Never in her wildest dreams did Kara Danvers think she would one day be packing her things in a garbage bag. Not to mention Lena probably thinks she's a big weirdo for not having a proper suitcase yet managing to have a sex toy collection. Lena must think her priorities are out of whack. It doesn't help that the black bag is making her look very homeless and pitiful right now.

Kara scrunched her nose and fidgeted with her glasses. _If I told Lena that I am Supergirl, this would all be a lot easier…_ She laughs nervously.

"Oh, well… You see, I had a, uh, s-suitcase but now… well, it's unusable at the moment, s-so I had no other choice…"

Lena looks at her friend in a mix of confusion and pity; confused because surely there were better options than this and pity because not only was her friend's life in danger, she was unsafe in her own home, she also doesn't even have a proper suitcase! The CEO thinks of ordering two bulletproof suitcases on Amazon later - or maybe five and two kevlar vests for each of them.

"We should get you a nice suitcase then."

Kara nods. _Wait, what? We?_ But before she could say anything else, Lena presses a comms button at her side to speak to her driver who is way up at the front of the car.

"Joseph, to the penthouse, please."

The CEO turns back to whatever e-mail she was composing and Kara feels the engine of the vehicle come to life. She's going to be living with her boss slash best friend for at least a weekend, something they both agreed upon earlier, or for Rao knows how long until Lena can be assured that she's out of harm's way.

 _Oh boy..._


	2. Lena Luthor Outstanding Heterosexual

Kara is pacing the length of Lena Luthor's guest bedroom, the phone to her ear. She pushes her glasses up on her head and pinches her nose, fighting the migraine that is pounding against her skull. A small part of her brain is already dissociating and wondering if whatever she's having is a normal migraine or technically a super migraine… right? Because she's - oh, what the heck, weirdo kryptonian brain, it is absolutely not the time for random thoughts!

She's on the phone with her sister, again, supposedly trying to figure out what steps to take next when she told Alex the other details on what happened with the freeze breath - wait, actually the freeze sneeze - and how she managed to untangle herself from that mess. Kind of untangle. Okay, between the trash bag for a suitcase and Lena Luthor thinking she's into weird… sex stuff…

Kara's face heats up. Ugh.

Meanwhile, Agent Alex Danvers has been hysterically laughing on the line for about four minutes. Kara allowed her sister to laugh it all out and make fun of her for a full minute before she started begging Alex to, "okay, ha-ha, you can stop laughing now," and "seriously, Alex, stop".

By the fourth minute mark, Kara just gave up begging and considered hanging up on Alex.

The matter was taken care of for her when there's a thud on the other line followed by Alex's pained "ow". Her sister just laughed herself ungracefully to the floor of the DEO. Kara sighs.

"Are you done now?"

She hears a few other things fall and Alex chuckle quietly, sounding far away from her phone, before she hears Alex speak up again, closer this time. She hears Alex try to catch her breath and then clear her throat.

"Yes. Yes. I'm done."

"So what do I do now?" Kara practically whines the question.

"Kara, don't worry." Alex starts, now the serious and concerned sister. "It's going to be fine. As I said, just stay for the weekend there at Lena's."

"Okay, but what if there's an emergency at the DEO?" Kara pushes her glasses back to the bridge of her nose and fidgets with it.

"Well, you can just fly out of there and then fly back in." Alex states, matter-of-factly.

Kara is about to say some hypothetical situation again but Alex interrupts her.

"Look, Kara, let's deal with whatever it will be when we get there, okay?"

Kara sighs but doesn't respond. Alex knows Kara is just flustered because she's stuck between a rock and a hard place right now - her secret identity and her closest friend, the only person she can be normal with.

"Kara, just think of this as a sleepover! Yay!" Alex sing-songs the last bit in an attempt to be silly and cheer her sister up. It works because Kara is now chuckling softly.

"Okay, fine. I guess this is better than another threat to the city." Kara sighs. Alex wishes that those words don't come to bite back her sister in the ass one day.

Alex zips her mouth over "well, are you sure because you can't punch your way out of this, sister," and instead says, "Exactly. That's the bright side here!"

Kara looks at the black bag containing a few of her clothes and two sets of Supergirl suits and capes then breathes another heavy sigh. She should start unpacking before Lena stumbles upon those, too, somehow. With how today is going, Kara isn't even going to be surprised if that happens because it seems like the universe is just having so much fun pushing her around today.

"Okay, Alex, I should go unpack now. Thanks for talking to me."

"No problem, kiddo!"

Kara pulls the phone away from her ear and almost ends the call when her hearing picks up Alex saying 'Hey, Kara!'. She holds the phone to her ear again.

"Sorry, I almost hung up. Yeah?"

"Kara, just…"

"What, Alex?" Kara pushes her glasses up her nose.

"Just make sure Lena doesn't find your nipple clamps, okay?"

Kara gasps so loud, and Alex bursts out in hysterical glee again, falling to the floor with a thud, but she is unaffected this time. Kara hangs up on her sister who is still laughing, without another thought and her face scrunches up in disgust. She'll probably hear Alex's voice saying the words 'nipple clamps' in her nightmares tonight.

Ugh.

Lena Luthor knocks on the door of her guest bedroom.

She had spent a majority of the afternoon making calls and exchanging emails with the head of security at LCorp. She's requested more security personnel and security devices to be installed around her house but specifically gave instructions to not outsource anything or anyone. The last thing she wants is to give Morgan Edge another opportunity to worm one of his henchmen into her home where he can make another attempt at her and Kara's lives. Her chief security wasn't sure how he could manage to work around upping the security without outsourcing and he sent her blood pressure skyrocketing when he voiced that out. Lena is an amazing boss, but she practically barked, "Figure it out!".

Some might think that she's overreacting on this - Kara does - but today's incident genuinely scared her. Of course, she was no virgin to death threats and murder attempts on her own life, but she draws the line at trying to kill her best friend, too. They can try to kill her all they want but they need to keep Kara out of this. And if they try to do anything to Kara, again? Well, Morgan Edge is going to see a different kind of Lena Luthor. Much different. Much worse.

That train of thought sends a chill down her spine. Lena Luthor is many things, but she is not that person. The rest of her family were definitely those people. But, not her. She's lived her whole life trying to escape her family's image. However with this, she can't promise to anyone, even Kara, that she won't turn into that person if they take away one of the people that she loves. And Kara Danvers? Well, Kara Danvers holds a special place in her heart, whether or not she wants to admit it to herself.

So when Kara answers the door covered only in a towel, smelling like her milk and honey body wash, hair damp and dripping wet, Lena gulps.

"Oh, hey Lena!"

Kara smiles brightly, brings up the hand that was on the door knob for a cute little wave. The action pulls the door open a little bit more, revealing that the guest towels were probably a little small because, oh damn, they fall dangerously only up to the top part of Kara's thighs, and Lena guesses that if her best friend turned around, the towel would only cover up to under Kara's ass.

Part of Lena's brain wonders, did the manor's air conditioning malfunction? It's suddenly so damn hot in here. Oh wow, Jesus fucking Christ, her legs go on for days. Lena tries not to think of how she wants to find out if those legs can crush her skull.

(Kara's Kryptonian legs can, but of course, Lena doesn't know that. But even if she did, Lena would probably let Kara do just that, as long as she gets to be between those glorious thighs.)

Kara, being Kara, is totally unaware of Lena's very open and very obvious ogling of her towel-clad body. Her super hearing does pick up on the quickening of Lena's heart beat, so she tilts her head in worry and puts her free hand on Lena's arm.

Lena feels Kara touch her arm and the action kicks her awake from her daze.

"Is everything okay?" Kara looks at her, eyes and voice filled with concern.

Lena, still shocked, clears her throat and looks down, trying to slip on a mask of composure and calm over her face, pushing all thoughts of Kara's legs and level of nudity and wow, look at that little droplet travelling down from her collarbone to her chest to her cleavage to - whoops, bye - underneath the towel.

Stop. Stop it. Lena mentally shakes herself. You are not a bisexual mess, stop being a bisexual mess.

"Oh, um…" Lena starts dumbly before taking a deep breath and finally, finally focusing on what she came to her friend's door for.

"Kara, I-I just came up to ask you what you wanted to have for dinner?"

Lena wrings her hands and continues before Kara could respond, taking a page out of Kara's book - to ramble in uncomfortable situations.

"See, I usually stay at the office 'til late, so, I usually have dinner there. I don't really have anything we can cook here, so, we'll need to order for delivery."

"Oh!"

Kara immediately perks up at the thought of food. So maybe Lena was nervous earlier because she was embarrassed about not having much groceries here at her manor, huh? She puts a finger to her chin, seriously contemplating what her taste buds are currently craving.

Lena watches Kara think a little too deeply about food - it's just food, right? - and realizes that maybe she should have brought the delivery menus from her favorite restaurants that she keeps downstairs.

"Oh, I have menus downstairs. I should have brought them up to show you!"

"Oh, that's fine. I don't think I'll be able to, uh…" Kara gestures to her towel-clad body, reminding Lena once again how very naked and wet she is.

Jesus fucking Christ, Luthor.

Lena almost face palms but instead goes for, "Oh, right…"

Kara laughs and it shouldn't sound and look sexy to Lena because they're the the most platonic of the bestest of super friends (she is yet to realize how that is a big pun), but it does.

"How bout I go get dressed and then we can look at the those menus and order together?" Kara smiles and it's as bright as it is innocent and shows how completely oblivious she to the other woman's current dilemma.

"Oh!" Lena steps back to put some distance between - it's hard to breathe when you're so close to a bright and hot sun - them and tries to return the smile. "I'm sorry. I'll go wait for you downstairs."

She all but bolts the moment the door closes.

Wow, Luthor… Heterosexual of the year.

Kara decides to go for her comfiest pajamas and her worn out National City University shirt. She bounces her way downstairs, in a better mood because food, and also because she's just a human puppy. She stops dead in her tracks when she sees Lena in a similar get up, a worn out MIT shirt and pajamas, all of her hair pushed to one side like a black silk curtain, the porcelain skin of her neck deliciously exposed.

Wait, what, Kara? Did you just describe Lena's neck as delicious?

This is the second time she's seen Lena in something other than pencil skirts and dresses. She's still not used to the sight. Or at least that's the explanation she offers to herself to explain her choice of words. She continues on her way to where Lena is sitting on the massive couch, looking over what she thinks are the takeout menus.

"Hey, MIT!" Kara greets and when Lena looks up at her with a smile, she proudly points to her own uni shirt, earning a laugh from her closest friend.

Lena pats the space beside her and motions for Kara to sit.

"So… are you in the mood for a specific type of cuisine? I was thinking Mediterranean tonight." Lena shows the menus to the other woman.

Kara's eyes bulge out of their sockets. When she heard the word "delivery" she was thinking something along the lines of McDonald's fries and burgers, Domino's pizzas, potstickers or bok choy. She was not expecting a menu of expensive and international dishes from all the high class hotels and restaurants in National City. Kara speed read through everything.

It's mostly healthy and vegan, too. Kara feels like she's going to faint.

I'd rather be stabbed with a Kryptonite sword than be forced to eat Kale.

After a stretch of silence, Lena turns to Kara in worry that the food might not be to other woman's liking.

Kara looked as green as the garden salad on the menu.

"You don't like any of this, do you?"

Kara freezes at Lena's question. The woman read her like an open children's book, font face Tahoma, size 24. She laughs nervously.

"Lena…"

Lena looks down at the expansive food options and racks her brain for whatever could be lacking. She was sure it had food from almost every country and culture you could think of, and it was all gourmet to boot! She thinks of the personal chef she laid off a year ago because it wasn't practical to employ him anymore because she just wasn't ever home. Maybe if Gordon had still been here, he could just whip up whatever Kara wanted.

"When you said 'delivery', I-I was expecting…" Kara decides to be honest this time, no matter how embarrassed she is of her tastes. "Well, more junk food, to be honest."

Lena looks at Kara in surprise. What?

Kara laughs. "I was kind of thinking of burgers and fries and greasy non-authentic pizza…"

Oh. Lena blinks.

"I guess you wouldn't have any reason to go to a McDonald's, huh?" Kara is still smiling before the statement sinks in and it clicks in her brain.

"WAIT!" Kara takes both of Lena's hands in hers. "Have you ever had McDonald's in your entire life?"

Lena jumps in surprise. She was a vegan since her college days and as a child her mother would throw a fit if she ate fast food anything. So she shakes her head.

"No, I don't think so."

Kara looks like a child that was just told Santa wasn't real.

"No way…"

"Uh, yes way. I'm also vegan."

Kara laughs. Of course Lena Luthor is vegan.

"That's a shame. I think I'll die without fast food. And sweets."

Lena laughs this time.

"Isn't it the other way around? Junk food will kill you!"

"Lena, I'm pretty sure junk food can't kill me."

Lena swats at Kara's hand.

"You have to eat something healthy tonight!"

Kara looks mortified at that.

"No, Ma'am. I will not."

It was Lena's turn to be mortified. Ma'am? Seriously?

"Uh, yes, you will."

"Nope."

"Yes."

The two of them start a staring contest, blue boring into green, each willing the other to give up.

Suddenly, Lena's brain betrays her as she remembers the image of Kara in a towel. She looks down and Kara jumps up from her seat on the couch, whooping, and fist pumping in celebration of her victory.

"I WON!"

"Ugh. Fine." Lena holds up her hands in surrender and defeat, then an idea pops up in her head. She decides to strike a bargain with Kara.

"Okay, what if you have a salad along with your junk food and I'll try one of your favorites? What do you say?"

Kara turns to her, eyes practically sparkling at the thought of having the honor of introducing Lena Luthor to the world or unhealthy eating.

"Yes. Yes. Yes."

Lena laughs. "Okay, okay."

Kara grabs her phone and dials the delivery line, knowing it by heart. Lena also calls her favorite Mediterranean restaurant for her meal.

They continue discussing their favorite foods while waiting for the deliveries to arrive.

Twenty minutes later, both with a list of things they would love the other to try, Joseph the driver enters the living room, a paper bag tucked into one arm and a huge bag in one hand.

"Ms. Luthor, your dinner."

Joseph nods respectfully to his employer and Lena smiles kindly at him. He sets the bags down on the coffee table and she hands him the payment for the food and tip for both delivery people. He nods again before exiting.

Kara squeals in excitement at the arrival of the food, almost clapping her hands like a baby seal. Lena smiles, thinking that she's never met anyone who was this excited for food, before looking at the sizes of their packages, and her eyes widen in surprise.

"Wow, Kara, you're eating all of that?"

It looked like Kara ordered enough food there for four full-grown adults. Kara, meanwhile, already has a half-eaten burger in one hand and her cheeks are full, munching happily like a baby hamster. How the hell Kara could've unwrapped it and eaten it that fast, Lena would never know. Though she wished so bad she could've seen it.

Kara swallows before responding.

"I-I have, uh… Like, really quick metabolism."

Lena wonders how quick one's metabolism could be to be eating for four people. Kara looks sheepish and shy, suddenly.

"I-I know it's weird? B-but, I've always…" Kara looks for some way to explain all the food. It didn't occur to her that this would be too much. She's always surrounded by people who are aware of her need to consume more food because her body processes and burns calories faster than the average human.

Lena realizes that she may be coming off as judgmental of Kara's eating habits. Oh, shit, she thinks, but before she could rectify the situation, Kara speaks up again.

"I'm very physically active, Lena." Kara explains. "I mean other than my job at CatCo, I, uh, also do other very, um, physically d-demanding stuff…" she trails off.

"Oh? You never told me that." Lena says in genuine surprise. Now that she thinks about it, Kara hasn't said much about the other things she likes to do.

Kara mistakes the statement as disbelieve and panics internally. She thinks of anything that would explain the whole thing.

"I, uh…" Kara thinks, then sputters out, "a-athlete! I'm, uh, also an athlete."

"Oh, wow." Lena looks at her friend in amazement. "I didn't know! That's so cool of you."

Kara did have a very lean and very fit body. Lena confirmed that much tonight. She feels a little envious because Kara could still be physically active even with her reporting job which requires her to run around the city all day.

Kara laughs nervously and nods.

"Yeah, that's me… Cool as ice."

"So, tell me, what sport do you play?" Lena angles her body to face Kara, very curious.

Kara almost choked on her burger. Darn, I didn't think that far ahead. Lena's hand rushes up to massage her back. Kara coughs.

"What sport? Um, let's see…" Kara tries to come up with something, but her knowledge of sports is limited. What can she do? She runs fast, she flies and she can fight. She laughs nervously.

"I'm a triathlete!" she blurts out.

"Oh, you mean where they swim, cycle, and run, all in one marathon?" There are stars in Lena Luthor's eyes and she wonders how there can be someone as perfect as Kara who is kind and hot and strong and, and…

"Oh, I guess I do martial arts, too. And gymnastics."

"Wow."

Kara smiles nervously and hopes Lena is buying this, while Lena is looking at Kara like she doesn't know whether to want to be Kara or want to do Kara.

"How are you even real, Kara Danvers?" Lena is smiling and shaking her head.

 _She's perfect, Luthor. Oh, you are a bisexual mess and you are so fucked._

Meanwhile, Kara almost choked on her burger.

"What do you mean?" Kara' eyes widen and she sweats at the statement.

 _Oh no, she's definitely suspicious. She's probably already figured out that I'm an alien._

Lena laughs.

"Nothing. You're just too good to be true." Lena smiles, the sides of her eyes crinkling.

Kara thinks she's going to have a heart attack anytime soon.

 _Oh boy, oh boy, Lena knows._


	3. Kara Danvers Ninja Turtle

Lena wakes up feeling _stuffy_ \- clothes uncomfortably clinging to her sweaty body, sheets twisted and trapping her legs, and she was just a little bit out of breath. She comes to, slowly, blinking.

 _Was it a dream? She was just dreaming of something wasn't she?_

She tries to recall whatever it was as she sits up and untangles herself, hand wiping at her brow and fingers combing through mussed up hair. It usually doesn't get this messy but today the strands protest against her fingers, refusing to straighten out and surrender.

"Ugh." Lena groans. _I need a shower_.

So, she hops into the shower first thing this day, instead of her usual habit of checking her emails first and watching the news. She can always do that on her phone during breakfast, she figures. But Lena Luthor is a woman of discipline and routine, as much as she loathes Lilian's upbringing. If there was anything she was thankful to her adoptive mother for, it was for teaching her those two things, even if Lilian's methods were cold and harsh. Discipline and routine carried her through the toughest of times and earned her every right to stand at the head of LCorp, no matter what the other board members say behind her back.

So, when Lena pads barefoot down the stairs - purse slung over her shoulder, reading emails on her phone in one hand, and her black Louboutins in the other - she screams in surprise and _absolute_ _terror_ when a sleepy Kara Danvers emerges out of nowhere and bumps into her on the way to the kitchen.

 _What the fuck._

 _Oh... right._

Lena Luthor, woman of routine and discipline and having lived in the manor alone since Lex's incarceration, completely forgot about the guest that was staying with her for the time being. Well, the friend she basically took hostage because of her paranoia, actually.

Kara with her deer-in-headlights expression on her face, glasses askew, and hands up in the air as if in surrender, looked like she was twice as surprised as Lena. This is most likely because she was startled by Lena's shriek, affecting her twice as much due to her super hearing, than the fact that Lena was there, because, _duh_ , it's her manor.

"Oh my God, Kara, I'm so sorry." Lena burns bright red in embarrassment and covers her face. "I totally forgot you were staying with me. You gave me quite a scare." She mumbles behind her hands, followed by nervous laughter.

Kara laughs, too, crinkling her nose as she does, then fixes her glasses and smiles.

"I'm sorry for startling you." She looks adorably apologetic. "Wow, you're up and ready very early, while I'm..." Kara gestures to Lena then gestures to herself.

And only then does Lena actually take in Kara's whole appearance.

 _Wow. Oh, fuck._

Kara was wearing a white shirt that looked like she had it from way back in middle school (she did), with the hem of the shirt too short to cover her whole torso, leaving her abs exposed. The fabric is taut against her shoulder muscles, making it look like they were bulging, and the short sleeves expose her arms in all of their glory - toned and powerful, flexing as she adorably rubs the sleep from her eyes. But that's not all that has Lena's mouth going dry and her underwear feeling uncomfortable…

Kara wasn't wearing a bra and Lena could see hard nipples through the fabric.

And last night's dreams come back to her at that moment.

 _Hot panting breaths. Loud gasps. Heavy moans. Fingers slick, pumping in and out of her. Mouth latched onto her center, with a tongue working her into a frenzy. Pleas of 'no, don't stop, don't stop!' and screams of 'yes, yes, YES!' while coming undone._

 _And then, Kara Danvers lifts her head from between her legs with the most smug smirk, wiping her chin._

Lena 'Outstanding Heterosexual' Luthor had one of the hottest and most vivid sex dreams of her life co-starring her best friend, Kara Danvers.

 _Oh, jesus fu-_

Lena doesn't even finish cursing in her head before her vision goes dark and she _faints_.

Kara flips the pancake (vegan, of course) in the air and expertly catches it. Lena sits at the counter, head buried in her hands, tea untouched.

Kara looks at Lena with a proud 'did-you-see-what-I-did' smile, but frowns when she sees Lena not looking at her. She doesn't call Lena's attention, however, letting her friend be.

 _She must be dealing with some things._ Kara thinks.

If only Kara knew exactly what Lena was dealing with…

Then _oh Rao, oh Rao, I hope she didn't see me..._

You see, Kara Danvers has a habit of subconsciously floating when she's half-asleep and it's way too early in the morning. It's fine when she's alone in her apartment or if she's with Alex.

(Alex had gotten used to the image of her floating sister greeting her first thing after numerous incidents with her screaming bloody murder and clutching her chest because _JESUS FUCKING MOTHER FUCK CHRIST KARA, DON'T DO THAT SHIT!_ After the 20th day in a row, Alex just threw a pillow at her.)

Kara tries not to entertain the worry that's nagging at her unless she wants it to chew her inside out again like it did the previous night. _Oh, well. The most I can do is make her breakfast._

Kara, of course, was able to catch her - purse, phone, and Louboutins - when it happened. She heard Lena's heart beat go from zero to a hundred, her breaths go from short and ragged to held, and sprung into action, effortlessly catching Lena and all of her things, then carrying her to the couch.

She checked for Lena's breathing and heartbeat - back to normal - then x-rayed if Lena had any injuries. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found none but was also perplexed as to what happened to her friend.

When Lena came to, a minute later, she turned red and covered her face once again, muttering apology after apology to Kara, but never answering when Kara asks why or what for.

So, Kara offered to help Lena up to her feet and back into the kitchen and when Lena accepted that, she went about making the vegan pancake recipe that she googled last night.

(She also flew out quick to grab the ingredients.)

Kara serves the prettiest pancakes with fruit and syrup on the side. She waits for Lena's reaction with baited breath, failing to calm the heart pounding in her chest.

Kara waits for the _whaatT tHe FuCkK yoU cAn FLYYYY?!_ , also, but it doesn't come.

Lena just looks at the pancakes then up at her and smiles with gratitude before mouthing a ' _thank you_ '.

Inside, Lena is all, _oh fuck, wow, she cooks breakfast, too. Wow, Kara, just fucking fuck me the fuck up, why don't you?_

Kara forgets her worries for a moment, blushing and grinning proudly, then sing-songs, "You're welcome!"

 _Look at that fucking face. She's so proud of her cooking. She loved cooking for me. Oh, wow. Fuck me up, Danvers._

Lena stabs the pancake with a fork, shoveling a big chunk of it, with a slice of fruit and a bit of syrup, into her mouth.

The action shocks Kara (Lena's stabby stabby thing with the pancakes) and suddenly she is sure that Lena saw her flying. She steels herself and braces for the impact. _Oh Rao..._

And Lena _moans_.

"That is so fucking good."

Kara's eyes widen. _What?_ Then she smiles brighter than the sun. _Lena loves the pancakes I made!_ There is a fluttering in her stomach.

Lena wants to start squinting while looking at her because _no one should be able to smile that bright._ And also; _Orgasmsss. In. My. Mouth._

"You like them? They're vegan, of course."

"Yes. Yes. A hundres times, yes." It didn't even occur to Lena that Kara could have served her non-vegan food. She was too occupied with her sexuality. "They're probably the best ones I've ever had." She whispers the second part, but of course Kara picks up on it.

And there is that fluttering again, in her stomach _because wow Lena Luthor called her pancakes the best._

Inside, Lena wants to glare at and strangle Kara _because no one should be this perfect and said no one shouldn't be affecting her this way by simply existing._ But she just keeps shoveling food into her mouth, taking a huge page from Kara's book.

Kara doesn't say anything, her worries pushed aside thanks to the compliments to her cooking, and just watches Lena eat her food with a smile. She serves Lena her coffee after a few beats, then digs into her own plate.

They both eat in silence for a while; Lena uncharacteristically shoving huge chunks of pancakes and fruit into her mouth while not at all having a gay panic, while Kara is the opposite - taking her time with her food, small bites.

Yes. They're both huge hot messes.

 _Yikes_.

It's Kara who finally speaks when Lena swallows her last bite.

"I can call Jess or James and tell them you're not feeling alright."

Lena looks at her, eyes soft, almost tearing up in awe of this kind woman before her - the same one she she just can't seem to stop having inappropriate thoughts of.

 _Oh, wow, she is so so thoughtful and caring and perfect and wow, Lena, all you can be is a horny mess. Who the fuck passes out from being horny?_

"Thank you, Kara." Lena says the words with reverence. She almost reaches out to put her hand on top of Kara's but stops herself when she realizes what the feel of bare skin may trigger. "I'm sorry for worrying you. I'm fine, really. No need to call Jess or James."

Kara notices the hesitation, tries to quiet the voice in her head saying _what was that why does Lena seem to be afraid to touch me oh Rao please don't let it be because she saw me and she knows,_ but there isn't much success.

 _But it might be because Lena is overworked and stressed out - being targeted by a murderous asshole does that to a person, y'know?_ Kara tells herself.

"Are you sure?" Kara asks, looking like she wants to protest, because with all her secret identity panic, Lena's health and wellbeing definitely comes first.

And Lena can see the look of Kara wanting to do everything to keep her from leaving her house, even if it means tying her up in a chair.

 _Or to the bed. I wouldn't mind._

Lena buries her face in her hands again. Yes, her mind just had to go back _there_.

"Lena, you fainted. You're probably overworked and not to mention the fact that your life was in danger twice in a week. You need rest."

 _Please Rao, let it be that._

Kara speaks gently but firmly, laying a hand on Lena's arm, testing the waters while Lena wills herself not to flinch from it.

"Fine." Lena sighs. There was definitely no way Kara was letting her leave today. "But I'll call Jess and James. And I'll still need to answer e-mails and look over reports and contracts here at home."

"Fair enough."

They both shake on the deal, Kara smiling as she always does, betraying the gnawing anxiety in her mind and Lena looking like being made to stay home was the worst kind of punishment.

But a thought crosses Lena's mind.

"Hey, at least I get to play hookie with you." Lena _winks_. Yep. _She winks_. Wherever the confidence to flirt and actually wink came from - _she's not sure if people actually wink to flirt in real life or if it's just a thing in the movies_ \- she will never know. And Kara laughs. It's beautiful and melodic and perfect like her; it makes Lena want to cock her finger guns because she's a dork; a dork with the biggest crush on her best friend who is also a dork but is also apparently really athletic ( _damn those muscles_ ), and who has a personal collection of sex toys in her closet ( _fuck_ ).

But then Kara's laugh gets stuck in her throat and she sputters.

"Wait, I'd love to, Lena, but I need to go to CatCo."

 _Wait, what? Why does she want me to stay?_ Kara's brows are furrowed now. _Oh, no, I hope it's not because she wants us to be alone to talk about what she potentially saw earlier._ Kara sweats.

(That was kind of a reach.)

It's Lena's turn to laugh, then she rolls her eyes with great exaggeration. _As smart as her friend is, she can be dense_ _sometimes_ , Lena thinks.

(Well, it's no wonder that pot and kettle are best friends. They're both really not the brightest bulbs right now.)

"Kara, the point of you staying at the manor with me is so you can be safe. How will you be safe if you go back to the building where we were shot at by two people on a motorcycle just yesterday?" Lena raises a perfect eyebrow, daring Kara to argue with her again about this.

Kara almost breathes a sigh of relief, then remembers all the work that's waiting for her at her desk.

"B-but…" Kara starts, hands already moving as she stutters. "Lena, I have a job to do! I have deadlines!" Kara looks imploringly at her. "Snapper will _kill_ me before those guys can even try to, again."

Lena waves a hand in dismissal.

"Kara, Snapper Carr won't be doing anything to you because then he'll have to answer to me. I literally am his boss - everyone's boss at CatCo." Lena smiles, all matter-of-factly and 'i-dare-you-to-argue-with-me'.

Kara studies her friend's face. _Okay, yeah, there's no room for argument,_ then rolls her eyes and throws her arms in the air, defeated again.

"Fine. Fine."

Lena smirks, not even bothering to hide the smug 'of course I win' expression that's painted all over her face.

Kara sighs again.

"So…" Lena drums her fingers on the counter. "Movie and popcorn?"

She almost squints again at Kara's ten thousand megawatt smile, and maybe melts a little bit.

Lena bounces down the stairs, this time in the much more comfortable get up of a pajama and a blue shirt with the Ravenclaw shield on it. She can't help but feel excited because they're going to be watching a movie. Granted, they'll just be in the manor's living room and it's more netflix and chill than anything. But, Lena still tries to calm the skipping of her heart that's matching her each step as she tells herself that _this is not a date._

 _Nope, it's not a date at all._ Lena repeats over and over in her head. _I'm just watching a movie on my couch with the friend who I have a massive crush on._

Not to mention a massive _lady boner_ for.

 _Jesus fucking christ._

If she had a swear jar, she'd probably have already paid half her net worth in dollar bills for all the times she's cursed inwardly since last night.

Kara is on the couch, Netflix at the ready on Lena's huge flat screen TV, hugging and munching on her own bowl of popcorn. There's another popcorn bowl on the coffee table which Lena assumes is hers.

Of course Kara wouldn't share.

Lena sees that Kara has changed from the form-fitting white shirt to a loose purple one with what looked like drawings of the planets of the solar system.

 _Thank God_ , Lena thinks.

Kara turns around at the sound of Lena's footsteps and grins, pointing at her shirt.

"Hey, Ravenclaw! I have a Gryffindor and Hufflepuff shirt because I couldn't decide which one."

 _Of course, you couldn't decide, you big adorable hot dork._

Kara puts a handful of popcorn in her mouth. Lena thinks that should be categorized as a talent.

"Well, you're probably a Gryffindor-Hufflepuff hybrid." Lena plops herself on the couch, an arm's length away from her kryptonite in ponytails and glasses, and grabs the popcorn bowl with her name on it. "A gryffinpuff. A huffledor?"

 _What the fuck, Luthor. Hybrids? What kind of Harry Potter fan are you?_

Kara laugh-snorts, then covers her face and blushes from embarrassment. Because really? The girl of steel? CatCo's up and coming reporter? _Laugh-snorts?_

Lena catches the sound and the subsequent attempt to conceal it and bursts out laughing.

 _Ohmyfuckinggawd, that'ssofuckingcute._

"Okay, in my defense, I was imagining a combination of the two animals and it was funny, okay?" Kara drawls out the last part.

"Okay, okay." Lena nods, smiling. "Whatever you say."

Kara sticks her tongue out. Lena's eyes zero in on it and she tries to dampen whatever feelings the action may trigger.

It wasn't very effective, of course. Her mind still goes _there_ and she suppresses a shudder, closing her eyes instead.

 _God fucking dammit._

"So…"

The word is barely audible and Lena is still looking at Kara's lips and Kara feels a shift in the air around them, as if each molecule was charged and the air could crackle and spark at any moment. She studies Lena's face - all chiseled cheekbones and jaw and perfect eyebrows - and feels herself drawn to the other woman's lips, also.

"So?"

Kara mimics the word, feeling it roll out of her tongue.

"So," Lena's eyes look up to Kara's eyes. When she finds them trained on her lips, a tight warmth coils in the bottom of her stomach.

 _Fuck, Kara, that is so hot._

And then it's too much for her, as if the walls started to close in and the oxygen was being sucked out of the room.

So, she clears her throat and wills the room to return to normal.

"Those vegan pancakes were _uh-mazing_ , Kara." Lena speaks too fast, tongue tripping over the words. "But I recall not having any groceries here, so, where did you get the ingredients?" She was going for light and teasing, but Kara felt a rock fall to the pit of her stomach.

 _Oh, Rao._

Still, it was very effective in dispelling whatever tension was enveloping them, because Kara's eyes snap up in panic and surprise, locking onto Lena's own.

 _Oh, gosh._ Kara studies Lena's face for any sign of this being a trap. The anxiety grips her by the throat. _Does she know? Did she see me float earlier? Is this her way of asking me if I'm an alien? Has she figured out that I'm Supergirl?_

And just like that, the floodgates that were holding Kara back from full blown paranoia, crumble and she lets out a weird fake laugh.

"Ah! Golly, Lena, you caught me!" More nervous laughter, matched with an exaggerated placement of her hand over her heart.

Lena simply quirks an eyebrow, then feels anger push its way through.

"Kara, d-did you sneak out of the Manor?"

Lena's eyes were cold now, and Kara gulps.

"I-I, uh…" _What can she say, really?_

Lena closes her eyes, turning the anger and worry around in her head before sighing deeply. When she opens them again, they're soft and warm and full of care and concern. Kara's heart breaks and for a moment she just wishes she could reassure her best friend.

" _Lena, you don't have to worry about me. I'm Supergirl. I'm pretty much invincible!"_

 _Rao, how she wishes the truth would just come out of her so easily._

"Kara… I hope you don't think I'm some paranoid control freak who dragged you here and wants to lock you up."

Lena takes her hands, lip quivering. Kara all but falls apart at the sight of it.

"Kara, you are… the one true friend I have. I just can't lose you."

The words feel like a kryptonite dagger to her heart and Kara _hates_ herself for making Lena worry.

"Oh, Lena, I'm sorry." Kara pulls Lena into her arms and she feels Lena melt into her.

 _Rao, I can't take this anymore. I should tell her._

 _I will tell her._

 _I'm going to tell her right now._

But before she could say anything, Lena cuts her off.

"Wait, how did you manage to get past the security, anyway? They would have told me if you'd gone out."

It was an innocent question without any accusatory tones to it, but of course Kara doesn't realize that.

It was the perfect trigger for another spiral of Kara Blurts Out Another Random Lie.

"Oh, I snuck past the guards!" Kara fake laughs, more nervous and obnoxious-sounding this time. "Like, you know… I ninja'd past them all."

 _Was that a verb? Whatever. It is now. And why am I throwing invisible air shurikens and making whooshing noises now?_

 _Oh, Rao._

Lena shakes her head and laughs heartily at Kara's antics. _This fucking dork, I swear to God._

"You ninja'd?"

"Yep. I ninja'd. I've got mad ninja skills, like Michelangelo..." Kara stops at Lena's quirked eyebrow and confused look. She stops the shuriken throwing and instead fidgets with her hands.

"U-uh… y'know. The ninja turtles? Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Rafael? No?" Kara's nervous chuckle is quieter and the blush creeping up her neck is darker.

 _Oh, Rao, I hope the ground swallows me right now._

A smile tugs at the corners of Lena's lips.

 _Of course she knew who the Ninja Turtles were. God, Kara is such a dork._

 _I could kiss her right now._

 _Should I kiss her right now?_


	4. SuperCorp The Shitstorm

Kara takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, summoning all the steel she can into her heart, tuning out all other noises except the voice in her head.

 _Tell her. Tell her. Tell her._

Lena's heart pounds wildly in her chest as she tries to calm her breathing. She tries to think of all the mantras that should give her the nudge she needs.

 _Kiss her. Go big or go home. Big risk for big reward. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single kiss._

 _Wait, the last one isn't right._

Lena's thoughts are a mess and none of the things her anxiety-addled brain are spewing makes sense. But she sees Kara close her eyes, and Lena feels like her heart is going to crack her ribs.

 _Or push out a heart-shaped indentation on her chest, like they do in cartoons._

But Lena sees Kara close her eyes and thinks, _is she waiting for me to kiss her? Did she somehow know all this time and was just waiting for me to make a move? Wow, Luthor you're an idiot._

Kara takes another deep breath and thinks, _it's now or never, and now is definitely better than never because, Rao, I cannot lie to her any more._

So Lena closes her eyes.

Kara opens her mouth, eyes still shut close.

Lena hurriedly leans in, chasing her courage before it runs away from her yet again.

Kara pushes the words out of her chest.

But Lena's lips are caught between Kara's teeth, and Kara's word are, well, quite literally corked shut by the half face that is currently, suddenly inside her mouth.

And neither of them quite foresaw this future as a turn out for finally doing what they've been itching to do.

They both open their eyes.

 _What the fu-_

 _What in the name of-_

It's quite comical, really. Lena's puckered lips went _shoot_ right into Kara's open mouth.

Then Kara made a surprised gurgling noise at the sudden intrusion into what would have been her secret spilling orifice, and this snaps both of them out of the confusion. So they scramble back away from each other, both looking absolutely horrified (Lena probably more terrified than confused, Kara more confused than horrified).

Then it clicks in Lena's brain that Kara was going to say something just as it clicks in Kara's brain that Lena was going to _kiss_ her.

 _Oh Jesus Mary Joseph motherfucking christ._

 _Oh for the love of Rao._

And maybe in some corner of the multiverse those four - _Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and Rao_ \- are shaking their heads at the two idiots calling their names when they have absolutely no hand in the shitstorm that the said idiots caused and are currently stuck in.

 _Lena was going to kiss me,_ Kara thinks. _Oh Rao._ And the blush creeps up from her neck to her cheeks.

And Kara imagines what would happen if Lena did kiss her, how the lips that drew her gaze every time would actually feel against her own.

She realizes she would have liked that.

Lena sees her world - _her reality_ \- fall apart in blocks. She wishes she'd fainted now, instead of earlier, wishes a comet fall to the sky or Snapper Carr calls Kara's phone to call her into work - _anything -_ to _save_ her from _this_.

"Oh my God," Lena breathes, face aflame, twisted in horror and embarrassment. "Oh my fucking God, Kara… I thought…"

Kara barely hears Lena's thoughts from the thundering of two heartbeats in her head and her own screaming thoughts.

 _She was going to kiss me! I wish I'd kept my mouth closed and let her kiss me! Oh Rao, from the look on her face she's never going to try to kiss me ever again._

 _But I want her to!_

 _Oh Rao, I freaking want her to._

Kara blushes harder, if such a thing were possible. Her face is so hot, it's as if her heat vision bounced off of a mirror and onto her.

 _But wait, I should tell her the truth. Lena deserves to know all of me before..._

 _Before she decides that she actually wants to kiss me..._

 _Someone who's been lying to her this whole time._

 _Oh Rao._

The thought brings tears to Kara's eyes.

 _Lena's going to hate me._

Lena sees Kara's lip quiver and hears her sniffle.

 _Oh fuck, she's going to cry. Why is she crying?_

Then she gasps as a realization dawns on her.

 _Oh fuck, did I make her feel uncomfortable? Did I make her feel harrassed? Oh fuck, fuck, fuck, I should've asked her first if I could kiss her._

 _She probably thinks I'm a monster._

Tears fill Lena's own eyes.

 _Kara probably hates me now._

"Lena…" Kara starts, reaching out and moving towards her.

Lena moves back, maintaining the distance between the two of them.

"No, Kara, you don't have to…" Lena looks like she's going to breakdown any time soon. She holds her hands up, gesturing for Kara to stay back. Kara grabs both hands before Lena could see her move, but holds them in hers with such softness.

"Lena."

Kara says her name firmly, pulling Lena in with her, the unspoken _it's okay, I'm here,_ understood _._ Her thumbs draw circles of _stay here, stay with me_ at the back of Lena's hands and it was almost hypnotic, almost calming. But Lena's nerves are frayed and she looks like she is about to explode any time soon.

"Lena, it's okay. It's not what you think…"

Lena doesn't know what to think, but she mentally braces herself for impact.

 _This is it. Kara's trying to let me down gently._

And Lena wants to cry because Kara Danvers is _too good_ _to hurt her_ and she is reminded of all things that drew her to this person.

Kara swallows the lump in her throat.

 _It's now or never._

"Lena, I have to tell you something."

Kara holds Lena's gaze, baring her soul to her.

"You're straight and we'll still be friends, right?"

Lena takes a jab at nonchalant, laughs without humor, trying to beat Kara to the punch and at the same time brush off the gravity of the moment.

 _Rejection? No biggie._

Kara sighs.

 _If you'd just let me talk, you big dum-dum_.

"No, dum-dum." The name slips out and both their eyes widen at that. "Wait - I didn't mean to call you-"

Lena's eyes widen a fraction, then she bursts out laughing. _Dum-dum is right._

Lena's eyes widen at that

"No, Kara, it's okay." Lena shakes her head. "I haven't been called that since pre-school. Thank you for the ice breaker."

Kara allows herself a chuckle.

"Well, you wouldn't just stop to listen to me!" Kara fidgets with her glasses, letting go of Lena's hands for a split second before holding them again. She looks like every bit the frustrated six year old. Lena laughs again.

"Okay, I'm sorry. What were you going to say?"

Her voice sounded lighter and Kara was glad. So, Kara allowed herself a smile and looked down, sending a silent prayer to Rao that this all actually turns out better than all the scenarios she fears.

 _Well, only one way to find out._

"Lena."

Kara looks up and searches her face, finally settling on the green of her eyes.

"Lena, I'm Supergirl."

Kara holds her breath.

A beat.

Then it sinks in and something passes across Lena's face (something Kara can't read).

Lena's eyes widen in the slightest, her lips part, her jaw slacks a little, the gears turning inside her head and Kara actually hears her breath hitch.

And then, after the longest pause, Lena pulls her hands away as if Kara's touch is burning her and she says in the barest whisper…

" _All this time… You lied to me?"_

Kara's stomach twists in painful knots.

 _No, no, no, Rao, please. Not this. Not this._

Kara wanted to grab her hands back as heart sank to her stomach, wished to every star that she had Lena's hands to anchor her, to make her feel that things will be okay, that their friendship will survive this.

But Lena has refused to give her that.

 _Maybe she doesn't deserve any comfort in this._

Lena laughs a humorless laugh, one that doesn't reach her eyes and doesn't sound quite right. It makes Kara want to vomit, her skin crawls - the laugh, it reminds her of Lilian Luthor.

"I was so stupid. I should have known from that first day… there was no way the circuitry of the alien detection device fried itself."

Lena shakes her head.

Kara wracks her brain for what to say, what to do, anything to salvage whatever's left of Lena's trust, her friendship.

But all she could come up with was, _"I'm sorry."_

"For what?" Lena snaps, cracks in her mask slowly showing what she actually feels - hurt, betrayal. "It's your secret to keep, Kara. It's your life. You are under no obligation to tell me."

"I'm sorry, Lena," is all Kara can say, because what else is there?

"So, I assume everyone else knows?" Lena's voice sounds thick, and she swallows.

"Yes."

"Even James?"

Kara looks down.

"I - uh, yes."

"Great."

And as she says it, Kara thinks of all the times people lied to her; of Jack Spheer promising her that he would never be so stupid as to test on himself, of Lilian telling her she loves her, of Lionel promising that her mother was safe and happy only for her to later find out that her mother was dead, of Lex smiling and holding her small hand, promising that her big brother will always be there to protect her.

Then there's her, Kara, who said that she trusted Lena with her life but didn't trust her enough with her secret identity.

There's Kara who took great lengths to hide the fact that she was Supergirl to Lena.

There's Kara who not only lied by omission but _actually lied to her face._

It's beyond whatever grudge Lena has against Superman for quickly abandoning Lex and labelling him a criminal instead of trying to reach out first and make him see the right way.

 _It's not that at all._

Lena Luthor is just fed up with being lied to. And all the worry and panic and dread she felt over Kara's life being in danger was all for naught.

Lena crosses her arms in front of her, her body language tense and uncomfortable. Kara can almost see all the walls around her go up.

"Since you're pretty much invulnerable, I guess there's no need for you to stay here any more."

 _Get out. She means get the f- out of my house,_ Kara thinks.

See, Lena Luthor has a way with words - it's a power she's used in many board meetings, against bullies who can't recognize underhanded comments and passive-aggressive statements.

Kara can't believe that Lena is using this against her now.

Kara wants to protest, wants to tell her that _it's not that I don't trust you - I do, with my whole life, you've saved me and this world as many times as Alex and J'onn have - but it's that I needed you to be that person, the one I could just be Kara with and not Supergirl._

But Kara only says, " _okay_ ," as she gets up and heads to the guest room to pack her things.

A moment later Lena hears the telltale _swoosh_ that Supergirl makes when she takes flight.

Kara couldn't bring herself to look at Lena and see the hurt on her face because _I caused that hurt._

The sound of Supergirl leaving fans the angry flames in Lena's chest.

 _Not even a goodbye, huh?_

 _Kara told the truth but it's Supergirl who can't face me._

 _Coward._

Lena just breathes, a slow inhale and exhale before pushing herself up from the couch.

 _Fuck netflix and popcorn._

If there's anything she learned from being a Luthor, it's that the solution to every thing is the whiff of neat whiskey and its slow burn down your throat.

 _The more expensive the liquor, the better._

She heads over to her kitchen and grabs her oldest and most expensive scotch from the cabinet.

She fills her glass to the brim.


End file.
